1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing setting apparatus, a computer readable recording medium, and an image forming system.
2. Description of the Background Art
An image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral (MFP) used in a network environment is designed such that an image is formed on a printing medium such as a printing paper to produce printouts through execution of a printing job submitted in accordance with a user's instruction. According to the conventional arts, information about setting such as printing setting which is used in the foregoing type of image forming apparatus is centrally controlled, to thereby cause the same printing setting to be reflected also in a different apparatus. For example, according to the technique suggested by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-86996, an image forming apparatus transmits information about setting such as printing setting to a server via an e-mail, so that the information about setting is centrally controlled in the server.
However, in a case where the information about setting controlled in the server is described in a different data format from a data format which can be interpreted by a different apparatus, the above-described technique is faced with a problem that even if the different apparatus acquires information about setting from the server, printing setting based on the acquired information about setting cannot be correctly reflected.
In recent years, various user interfaces are available as user interfaces for a user to submit a printing job to an image forming apparatus, and thus, in some cases, information about printing setting is generated in different data formats varying with the various user interfaces.
For example, in a case where a user gives an instruction for execution of a printing job by the user's direct operation of an image forming apparatus, an operation panel included in the image forming apparatus serves as a user interface. In this case, the user performs an operation for setting of various printing conditions on a setting page displayed on the operation panel, so that printing setting corresponding to the operation performed by the user is reflected in the setting page. At that time, the image forming apparatus generates information about printing setting in a specific data format based on the operation performed on the operation panel therein.
Also, in a case where a user gives an instruction for execution of a printing job by operating a computer (PC) connected to a network, a printer driver previously installed in the computer is activated, so that a displayed page provided by the printer driver serves as a user interface. In this case, the printer driver generates information about printing setting in a data format defined by a printer job language (PJL) or the like in accordance with an operation performed by the user.
Unlike this, in a case where a printer driver is not previously installed in a computer, a user first opens a web browser of the computer. Then, accessing a uniform resource locator (URL) of a web application offered by an image forming apparatus allows the user to use a displayed page provided by the web application, as a user interface. In this case, the image forming apparatus generates information about printing setting in a data format defined by a common gateway interface (CGI) of a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
Further, recent image forming apparatuses include a type which is ready to receive an e-mail message via a network and is equipped with an e-mail printing function. More specifically, when an e-mail is received via a network, an image forming apparatus of this type prints out contents of an attached file or the like of the received e-mail. Thus, a user can submit a printing job to an image forming apparatus by starting up an e-mail program in a computer, a mobile data terminal, or the like, and sending an e-mail to an address of the image forming apparatus. In this case, a displayed page provided by starting up the c-mail program serves as a user interface, and printing setting can be accomplished by inputting a text command for requesting printing setting, in a subject space or the like of the e-mail.
However, a user who uses an image forming apparatus is not necessarily accustomed to using all of various user interfaces cited above. Rather than that, typically, a user uses only one user interface, or two user interfaces at most, on a daily basis, and does not intimately understand what operation should be performed on the other user interfaces in order to achieve desired printing setting. Therefore, in submitting a printing job with the use of a different user interface from a user's accustomed user interface, an operation for achieving printing setting cannot be efficiently performed. Also, as a user does not usually use, and thus is unfamiliar with, the different user interface, there is a possibility of incorrect printing setting which is different from desired printing setting.
In order to avoid the above-described situation, it is desired that printing setting made in a user interface which a user usually uses and is accustomed to use is reflected in an unaccustomed user interface as it is. However, according to the conventional art, as is made clear from the above description, in a case where respective data formats used in various user interfaces vary, information about printing setting generated in one user interface cannot be properly read out and displayed by another user interface. Therefore, the conventional art suffers from the problem of poor operability.
Particularly, when a user submits a printing job with the use of an e-mail printing function of an image forming apparatus, the user needs to manually input a text command for requesting printing setting into a subject space or the like of an e-mail in order to achieve printing setting, as described above. This causes a problem that a user who does not know a text command would have difficulties in even using an e-mail printing function of an image forming apparatus.